Tales of the Sea
by lovewords
Summary: A ship at sale. A wild sea. Monsters and treasure. A handsome young Captain and a Mermaid. All equal one thing... 18th century forbidden love. / "Who sings to us, Captain?" he asked. He was new to the ship, uncertain of the secrets of the seas. The Captain turned away from the wheel of the ship toward the young sailor, green eyes glittering. "Mermaids," he whispered warningly.


**Mermaids in the moon Light**

" _My heart is pierced by Cupid, I distain all glittering gold, there's nothing can console me, than my Jolly Sailor Bold."_

The sweet tune echoed through the water and up into the warm night air. The full moon glistened on the sea's surface creating diamonds that seemed to have sunken to the bottom. _The BlackThorne_ floated through the waves listening to the music of the deep. The sailors, all quiet as they did so. A young man with sandy blonde hair to his shoulders approached the Captain.

"Who sings to us, Captain?" he asked. He was new to the ship, his face still boyish and uncertain of the secrets of the seas and to the lullaby of the sirens. The Captain turned away from the wheel of the ship toward the young sailor.

"Mermaids," he said. He was young for a Captain and handsome, only a few days from clean shaven, gifted with high and sharp cheekbones and a nose with a slight bump in the bridge, an imperfection so pleasing to the eye, male or female could be held captive by the intense green eyes which were imprisoned in his head. His dark hair was cropped unusually short for the time. The single word he spoke held a warning with it. The young boy's eyes widened, sparkling with innocence and excitement.

"Mermaids, Captain?" he whispered in astonishment as he stared out at the rippling water that seemed so calm to that of an untrained eye. The Captain of the _BlackThorne_ did even get to nod his head before a familiar voice called out and he had to resist the urge to groan.

"Ey," came another voice. An older man with a wooden leg and a long grey braided beard laced with beads and ornaments appeared from the shadows of the rigging.

"Captain Goode speaks the truth." He grinned widely at the boy, displaying a mouth of yellowed teeth, some cracked and broken. "Mermaids be awakened by the full moon." He said his voice seemed croaky and his breath wafted the scent of alcohol towards the other two men. The young boy swallowed hard as the man came closer, his peg leg clacking against the wooden boards of the ship.

"Don't scare the boy Farley." Said Captain Goode as he rolled his eyes and continued navigating _The BlackThorne._ Farley's eyes twinkled with mischief,

"Have you heard the stories?" he asked and the boy shook his head. "Mermaids are only female," he said with a wink and a crooked smile,

"Then how do they exist?" asked another member of the crew. The Captain, Farley and the boy turned to see that the whole crew had gathered around at the mention of the word 'mermaid'. Farley shifted to face them with a deep and throaty chuckle.

"Mermaids mate with _sailors_." He said and the Captain smirked. It was a gift and a curse to his kind, one that he couldn't help but appreciate.

"Sailors? What the devil they do that for?" came a feminine voice. A girl with caramel skin and long dark hair plumped up high on her head in different styles. Her dress was torn and ragged from so much time on the ship. She laughed and so did her fellow woman around her, a small blonde and a beautiful, black haired girl who towered above the two others on white creamy legs.

"Hush Rebecca." Captain said with a smirk and she scowled at him. His smirk only grew into a smile at her expression.

"I heard a kiss from a Mermaid can bring eternal youth!" cried a man by the name of Nicholas or Nick, as he was known to by his close friends. All three of the girls scoffed at the ridiculous idea, they were just as nice to look at as any mermaid, and these sailors were so ungrateful. The tall one, known as Macey looked at him with annoyance, but Nick didn't even look her way. Farley shook his head,

"Perhaps, but none have lived long enough to find out." He said "At least in none of the stories that I've heard."

"Never trust stories that were born at sea." Said Captain Goode in a half-hearted attempt to stop his old friend. He wasn't surprised in the least that when the old men kept talking

"When the moon is full and at its brightest, Mermaids set out to have their way with an unsuspecting sailor before pulling them down to the bottom of the deep and drowning them in order to feast upon their _flesh_." Farley said his eyes narrowed at the crowd around him. The shock and horror on their faces bringing another laugh out of his plump belly. The laugh turned into a cough that sounded as though he was chocking up his lungs.

"Rumors, all them." Captain cried, pull his men's eyes back onto him "Back to work!"

"But sir, if these are more than just frilly fairy tales, than are we safe out here?"

"Out here? Mermaids daren't come after my ship and _my_ crew." He stated firmly, leaving no room for arguing. No room for arguing for anyone, but Farley that is.

"Mermaids go after any fine ship, the finer the better." Farley said and Captain Goode turned to him a frown. He didn't appreciate him spreading fear around his workers. There were only so many times in one conversation he was content to have his orders ignored.

"Back to work, if the Mermaids come than so be it, to die with an angel of the sea would be a blessing to us all!" with a large cheer and applaud for their Captain the crew returned to the ropes and sails which they tended.

"Farley, stop tormenting my crew and pray tell me where my first mate has disappeared to?" Captain Goode asked,

"Right behind ya Captain."

"Newman!" Captain said stepping away from the wheel and passing it over to Farley as he wrapped an arm around the shoulders of his friend.

"Zach." Grant said with a smile, "Now what be all this talk of Mermaids."

"There be Mermaids out in the full moon, Grant, and Farley here is spookin' the lot of them." Zach said with frustration as he gestured to his men. Grant laughed

"We've sailed for nearly all our lives and eh! We were born at sea! And I have never set an eye on a scale, let alone a face of a Mermaid."

"Exactly my point." Zach said as though that were the end of it. "I just needed another voice of reason." Grant smiled at his old friend and thumped him on the back.

"I wouldn't exactly consider myself a voice of reason, Goode but you flatter me none the less." The two laughed as Zach tried once again to disperse the crowd around them.

A silence fell over the crew though, a silence, Zach had never bared witness to before. He turned back around to ask Grant what the hell was wrong with everyone

"What are you-?" then he saw them, dozens of them, their angelic faces peering though decorative windows in the wood of the ship. Their arms propping them up and their hair slicked back with the salty water, each face prettier than the next. Exotic and beautiful. All shades or skin and hair and eyes. Zach felt the wind knocked out of him. All the nonsense of Mermaids had deafened them to their songs coming closer. The mouths of the mermaids were all still singing sweetly and everyone was listening, frozen in place. The Captain of the shop was no exception.

"My heart is pierced by Cupid, I distain all glittering gold, there's nothing can console me, than my Jolly Sailor Bold." a middle aged man began to walk towards the side, closer to one of the Mermaids.

"`Ello there miss," he said taking off his hat and kneeling down, she stared at him her eyes were a crystal blue, long blonde hair clung to her skin and covered her chest. Her face looked so young, not much older than seventeen, though mermaids didn't age the same as humans did. She was a heavenly sight, a nightmare wearing the skin of an angel. The sight of her made Zach's heart stop beating for a moment. A sensation he had never truly felt before. The mens' eyes were glossed over, the siren song bewitching them.

"Were you singing?" asked the man and the mermaid smile in front of him smiled.

"I was," she said quietly, her head inclining forward slightly and when her mouth opened again the rest of her sister's fell quiet as she sang "My heart is pierced by Cupid, I distain all glittering gold, there's nothing can console me, than my Jolly sailor Bold." She sang, her voice smooth and enchanting. Her sisters joined her once more in song.

Mist seemed to rise from the surface of the water. She leaned closer to the man, an innocent smile on her face, a face that Zach couldn't turn away from.

"Will you come closer sailor, this is my first full moon." She whispered as she reached her hands out and cupped his face, the others around her out stretched their arms too and the other crewmembers started walking forward in zombie-like dazes. Zach felt something pulling deep within him, tugging him towards the mermaid, any mermaid in fact, but there was something else. Something that made him think he should call out, try to stop his men from walking into their watery graves, but he couldn't open his mouth, couldn't get the words out.

"Stay back!" cried Farley "The moon!" he shouted running into a storage cabin. Zach startled inside his body, but on the outside he remained dazed. He and Grant walked towards the railing. Captain's heart was beating wildly in his rib cage as he looked down to the water to see gleaming eyes staring up at him.

"Zach, am I dreaming?" asked Grant and Zach let out a deep breath,

"If you are, I beg you never to awaken." Said Captain Goode, his eyes flickered to the mermaid still talking to the middle aged man. The man's name was long gone from Zach's mind, everything lost to him as lust clouded his mind and senses.

"Are you my Jolly Sailor Bold?" asked a mermaid to Zach's left as he stared at the blonde. Zach slowly tore his eyes from the blonde mermaid to look down at the source of the voice. She was now laying half on the floor of the ship, her tail still hanging off the edge and dipping into the water. It was a metallic bronzy color that shimmered in the moonlight. Her hair was brown and despite the extra water weight it was tightly curled. Zach stopped as his eyes locked with her brown ones, such a milky chocolate color they were.

"I think I might be," his voice was embarrassingly raspy and deep inside his mind he cringed at the sound of it. The mermaid grasped his ankle with her hand, curling her fingers around it slowly her nails cutting though his trousers and sinking into his skin. He winced from the sudden pain and the fog seemed to fade for a moment.

"Come with me to the deep then!" she howled as fangs grew from her front teeth and she hissed up at him, pulled his feet from under him. He yelled out and only seconds later he started to hear his men yelling out as well. Zach fell onto his back; the wind was knocked from his lungs

"Come my Jolly Sailor!" she shouted. Zach yelled out again, calling for his men to fight back and kicked the mermaid in the face, a silver liquid seeped from her nose. She seemed shocked for a moment, her hand came free of his ankle and flew to her bleeding nose. Suddenly she turned her eyes back to his and hissed as she splashed back into the water. The whole boat started to shake and rock as the Mermaids shot out of the water and grabbed men, their claws shooting out of their nail beds and fangs gleaming, tackling the crew to the floor and dragging them into the dark water.

Captain Goode stood up, his hand reaching down frantically for his sword. It's metallic sound barley traveling a few feet before disappearing in the wails of his men. He ran towards the wheel of the ship, which seemed to have been abandoned.

"Watch out!" someone shouted and the Captain turned to see one of the beautiful beasts flying above him; hands outstretched a growl leaving his her lips. He ducked and she flew into the ground. Zach's heart was pounding loud enough for the gods to hear. He felt something grab at his feet and stabbed at the mermaid lying on the ship floor. The blade pierced through her abdomen and when he retracted it, it shimmered with slick, silver blood. He wondered for a moment, before Zach grabbed the steering wheel and turned it violently to the left.

"Prepare the cannons!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. Suddenly thunder sounded overhead, but he paid the brewing storm no means. He gripped the wheel, his knuckles bone white as a wind whipped at his face.

"FIRE!" he shouted and the bang of the large guns being shot racked and rattled everything. He stumbled slightly on his feet, not quite recovered from the mermaids spell. "Again!" the resounding BANG echoed in his ears. The mermaids screeched, their screams so high pitched they could pierce through a human eardrum. Zach felt a warmth on his earlobe as blonde flowed gently. He saw the mermaids still alive on the ship flying off into the water again, splashing and howling as they grabbed last minute victims and dived into the depths of the sea, just as fast as they came, they were gone. Silence. Zach slipped down to the floor, wiping the blood dripping down his neck. He pressed his back up against the side the ship, his head falling into his hands. Thunder sounded again and rain started to fall on _The BlackThrone_ and Zach turned his head up to the sky as it started to rain harder. The pitter-patter of the drops were comforting and soothing compared to the screams on the sirens that had been around mere seconds ago.

Moans began and it occurred to the Captain to check on his men. He climbed to his feet to see many of them on the ground themselves. They were injured and it pained him to realize that this wasn't all of them. The mermaids had only been around for a short time and his ship was in ruins. Sails were torn, ropes shredded and frayed, wood splintered. They would need to get to a port sooner than planned. It should be a couple days to the coast of France from their current location.

"Where is the Healer?" Zach called out, many of his men were wounded or in a daze. Red blood mixing with silver, he was glad to see that the majority was silver though and that a good portion of his crew was clutching their swords staring around in shock.

"Here!" A man called as he staggered to his feet and started to attend to the wounded, he was the healer. The man on the ship that tended to the sick and as hard as it was to admit, _the_ _BlackThorne_ had seen her fair share of scurvy. Though she was now piled high with lemons and limes to keep away the illness.

Zach could see severed fins and tails and Mermaid corpses scattered around, silver blood in pools around them. His eyes widened at the site. Most of them still had their tails; all different colors and fins coming off them, some with their eyes staring vacantly at nothing, fangs bared and others looked more like they were sleeping.

"Dear lord! Why wasn't I born from an angel in love with the devil! What a woman to be if born with fins!" cried Rebecca as she stood up from behind a barrel and brushed herself down, "Mermaids really are something aren't they." She said with a grin and Captain Goode nodded

"You've got me convinced." He said, Bex fluffed up her hair and strutted towards him, Macey and Liz climbing out from behind their own barrels behind her.

"Captain are ya busy tonight?" she asked her voice low and husky, he frowned,

"Bex, I don't think I'm in the mood." His tone was hesitant, not because he was interested in her offer, but rather unsure whether she had actually just _asked_ him that.

"Since when?" she asked shocked and he raised an eyebrow

"Since I was almost killed by dozens of the most breath-taking woman I've ever set eyes on." He said and Bex stepped back, "And half my men were either dragged into the sea or currently lay injured on the deck."

"Suit yourself." She said slightly sourly, and propped her hand on her hip.

"I'm not to be put off woman because of a little hissing and biting," they turned to see Grant looking at Bex with a panty dropping, corset loosening grin on his face. Rebecca Baxter rolled her eyes,

"Grantary." She replied curtly. "Not to be _rude,"_ Grant chuckled and winced as his side ached from a tumble he took down the stairs during the attack. He recovered quickly though and rolled his shoulders back, straightening his spine.

"Well if you're going to be like that Rebecca." Grant said, facing Bex head on. Zach smirked at the two before leaving them behind to deal with each other's impossibilities.

Zach started walking rounds about the ship, scanning the faces at his feet. Checking the damage to both his ship and crew. He stepped over a pale figure with blonde hair and wouldn't have looked down if it weren't a soft whimper. He looked down to see it move. Her hair was almost dry, all spread out over her curled up body, her back faced up at him. It was the blonde Mermaid, the one with the blue eyes that had sung by herself. She stretched out and he saw that she no longer had a fish tale, but human legs. She was smooth and pale. She whimpered again. Zach looked over his shoulder and then leaned down; she wasn't wearing any clothes either, her naked back was smooth under his fingertips. Yes, she was real. She was really there and his mind wasn't playing tricks on him. She whimpered a third time and rolled over onto her back, Zach blushed furiously and looked away as he stripped of his jacket and laid it over her body. He didn't know what got him so flustered. It wasn't as tough he had never seen a naked girl before, in fact even if it was indelicate for him to admit, he had seen perhaps more than his fair share of naked women by this time in his life.

"What are ya' doin' Captain?" asked a deck washer by the name of Jonas. Zach looked up from the young mer-girl.

"Um, she…" Zach started but was cut off as she groaned, Jonas's eyes flickered down to the body and widened

"She's alive?!" he gasped and Zach rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Shut it!" Zach scolded and Jonas shrank back

"Is she alive Captain?" he asked in a shouting whisper.

"Well use your eyes boy, does she look alive?" Zach snapped. They both looked down at her. She really was pretty, too pretty. Zach didn't know what to do with her, should he throw her over board? Would she drown if he did? Could mermaids drown? Was she dangerous? How badly was she injured? He could see a bit of liquid silver along her temple, it seemed she may have been hit in the head.

"Well… she is breathing." Jonas said hesitantly, his observation a sound one.

"That she is," Zach said taking off his hat and running a hand through his hair and then lowering it back onto his head.

"So? She's _alive_?" Zach rolled his eyes before nodding. Jonas's mouth dropped open as he gazed at the girl.

"The moon." She whispered and both men looked at her. Her eyes fluttered open and then they were frozen.

"C-can I help you?" Jonas stuttered and offered a hand. Zach pushed it away,

"Make sure no one see's us boy, I'm going to carry her to my chambers." Jonas blushed red and he stumbled back as Zach scooped her up bridal style.

"Yes, Captain." He said saluting him and scurrying away. Zach shook his head as he tried to act as casually as possible carrying a naked young girl to his chambers as she stared up at him half conscious.

"Are you a god?" she asked and He couldn't help but smirk, he had been called many things before, but never a god. It did have a nice ring to it though…

"I wish." He muttered as he placed her down on his bed and tucked her in.

"My heart is pierced by Cupid," she sang as she lolled back into sleep's embrace. Zach started backing up, but he couldn't get more than a few feet away. Her face was perfectly smooth and unblemished. Her long golden hair down to her waist in loose beach waves, he couldn't see them now, but he still had her piercing blue eyes burned into his mind. Her voice was sweeter than any other- no. No she was a mermaid a devil. She had fangs and claws and would skin him a live if she were in her right mind, right after she had her way with him-

"Zach!" Rebecca came storming in slamming the door shut behind her. She had seen it, seen the blushing dock scrubber and the Captain whispering. Seen him wrap the fish in his coat and carry the it like it was a precious stone. _Precious stone, indeed._ Zach turned around irritated that she had no decency to knock and thought that she had the right to barge in on the Captain of a ship. No matter how 'close' they were. Or she thought they were.

"What are you doing?" Zach hissed through gritted teeth. Bex stopped in her tracks when she saw his eyes, but didn't let her rage cool.

"I'm here to tell you how stupid this is." She said flinging her arms at the sleeping girl.

"You don't have the right to tell me what to do. I didn't ask for your opinion." Zach shot back standing tall and towering over her, but Bex didn't back down.

"You can't keep a _mermaid_ Zachary." She said "Its crazy!"

"You were wishing you were one of them before. Perhaps your mood things are the real crazy around here, Rebecca."

"Yeah, but they are _monsters_ of the sea. They are _dangerous_." She said her teeth grinding together. She couldn't let him keep it. She looked at the sleeping monster and felt the urge to regurgitate her supper when she saw that the girl was wearing nothing, but the Captain's jacket, as if her blood wasn't already boiling.

"I think I can handle it." Zach said coldly. His shoulders stiffening.

"You think you're invincible." She spat.

"Don't speak to me in that tone, I am above you in every way." Zach growled clenching his fists. Rebecca felt his words hit her like a stake through the heart, "And don't you forget it."

"I d-didn't think that status matter in here-" she stumbled

"You were wrong."

"But Zach."

"I said I didn't want to see you tonight." He turned away from her. His back ridged and his arms hanging stiffly at his sides. Bex stared at his back. His white blousy shirt un-tucked from his trousers, which clung to his legs defining every muscle so obviously. His belt with his sword that had fought so many battles in Zach's hands and he was a mere four and twenty. She walked around him so she could look at his face, but he looked over her head as if she wasn't there his eyes glued to the mermaid wrapped in his sheets.

"Zach-" she said reaching up and placing her hand on his cheek, he grabbed her wrist and she jumped.

"That's Captain Zachary Goode to you, _Miss_." Bex felt her eyes swell with tears for the first time in… well a long time. Zach dropped her arm and she stepped back. His voice was so cold, so unwelcoming or laced with it's usual playful tone. She hadn't heard him talk to her like this since before they knew each other, not since their first night together. She licked her lips and pressed them tightly together as she walked past him and towards the door. Bex paused a moment when she passed the mermaid deep in slumber, her hurt curdled to disgust and jealousy when she saw the girls petite nose and butterfly eyelashes. Then she turned and left the cabin without a word, slamming the door on her way out.

Zach stood stolid long after Bex had left. His face pinched into a frown. He heard the girl stir, he wasn't sure what to call her anymore now that she had legs. She was still a mermaid, but it just didn't seem right without her golden tail. His face softened as her lips released another chorus of words

"A fig for his riches, his merchandise and gold, true love has grafted my heart, give me my Sailor Bold…" This thing seemed to sing songs even as she slept. Riches. Gold. Love. She was a siren, made by God or the Devil it was a mystery to him and to all men who walked this earth. He walked towards her and sat on the edge of the mattress. He would have to sleep on the floor tonight, what he would do with her in the morning was a problem. He couldn't very well let the crew know she was a mermaid, if they found out who knows what would happen, especially after the attack last night. He should probably let her go… but he had a _mermaid_. A live mermaid, he didn't know how much that was worth. Surely with the right buyer, she was priceless. She seemed young too, not that he knew how mermaids aged or even if they did at all, but she seemed to be a youngish one. Then remembered how she had said that this was her first moon. She had never been out at a full moon before. She seemed different from the others… she, she, she, she! He couldn't think of what else to call her. She had no name to him.

She was just a mermaid with Tales of the Sea. Tales that could be worth keeping, worth knowing.

 **A/N- Hello everyone, this is a little idea that I've had for a long time.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Gallagher Girls, the Characters or the Song in this story.**

 **The amazing SummerTime17 made the cover she's so talented! Go check out her stories ;)**

 **What do you guys think of this? Do love it? Like it? Hate it? Please share. I could keep it as maybe a One-shot, but if you want, I do know which direction it would go if I continued. Its up to you all**

 **Thank you for reading and hopefully reviewing!**

 **P.S I got this idea while watching** ** _Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides_** **if you didn't already know ;)**


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